Every year, magazines, TV Shows, Podcasts, blogs and anyone who thinks their opinions are important publish their Best Of Lists. Of course, over here at LE Tower we argue that every release we feature on LEM has to be the best, otherwise we wouldn’t select them. What qualifies for the best is and should be an individual taste, therefore we would never be so presumptuous to tell you what we think is the best and then publish our list.  We prefer to give you a reminder of music we have had on repeat play over the past 12 months here at the LEM studio.

So much incredible new music has come our way, much of it will unfortunately never get a much deserved wider audience, yet we here at LEM work tirelessly to search out and review new releases we believe should not be overlooked. Here then we present over 120 minutes of selected cuts played on volumes of LEM in 2025. All these releases that have logged up the most repeat plays at LE Tower during the past year. It’s a mixed and wide collection of genres, we begin with an all-time LEM favorite, the enormously talented Barzin; often-noted artists like Victoria Park and Porridge Radio are here; the astonishingly brilliant Kate Baxter formally of My Neptune gets a double exposure; seasoned and masterful Maribou State are included; exceptional slightly off-kilter acts such as Unmarry Me,  Holy Tongue and KuleeAngee are included; examples of modern rock & roll from Soot Sprite, Roberta Lips and Mia Koden; a healthy array of much-adored first-rate chanteuses. Enjoy!

Barzin – Home Is A Photograph

I know Barzin, so when he writes, “Given the current state of the world, which shows no sign of improving, talking about one’s musical work can feel somewhat indulgent—a little like Nero playing the fiddle while Rome burned—so apologies if this comes across as tone-deaf.” I know just how sincerely Barzin is with his modesty. The exceptional Toronto-based artist goes on to say, “I wrote and recorded this track several years ago and have been chipping away at it ever since. With the help of Nick Zubeck, Marito Marques, Karen Ng, and Allison Au, it finally took shape, and I decided to release it.” Then Barzin, of proud Persian heritage says, “This song is inspired by the theme of home, and a longing for a place that only exists in the imagination. I dedicate this song to the 1.9 million Palestinians in Gaza who have lost their homes due to forcible displacement by Israel, many of whom may never be allowed to return.” Do watch the video Barzin created for Home Is A Photograph with haunting photographs graciously provided by Pegah Rahemian. Along with his own releases, the talented musician has also collaborated on production work with gifted artist Set Feux, and composed a soundtrack for the film The Shadow of My Life by Hajar Moradi. I know Barzin – how fortunate is that?

Flora Hibberd – Remote Becoming Holy

The minimalist beginning to Remote Becoming Holy captured my attention immeadiately. What a stunning cut this is. The Paris-based British songwriter uses her experience to explore the nuances of language, decoding the slippages where English and French intertwine. These linguistic intersections become moments of strange poetry, revealing hidden threads of life and deepening our understanding. Listen carefully to Hibberd’s album Swirl and discover the secret codes, non-verbal signifiers, and intricate musical layers. The artist sees Swirl as meditation on communication, particularly the transmission of songs as ephemeral, time-specific art. It’s an exploration of how music democratizes voices, capturing fleeting moments that might never occur again.

Pictoria Vark – I Pushed It Down

If for some reason you are not already a confirmed fan of Ms. Vark then get a move on and deal with the issue of typing in Pictoria Vark only to have your spellcheck program insist on –Victoria Park! It’s fitting of course because Victoria – Pictoria leans toward being a little contradictory. After all, it really is hard to pin down her music and slot her excellent songwriting skill into comfy genre. As with all of Pictoria’s work to date her latest album, Nothing Sticks is essential listening. She speaks her mind honestly through her music. I Pushed It Down happens to be my fave cut at the moment. Listen to those well-realized lyrics,“I pushed it down, I drank to the sound, until I drowned” it could be mournful if it were not for understanding the breath of hope that is the magic of Ms. Vark. I’ve yet to see this talented artist live, I do hope we can be in the same place at the same time someday soon.

Florist – Have Heaven

Florist are Emily Sprague, Rick Spataro, Felix Walworth and Jonnie Baker who say they are a friendship project from the Catskill Mountains, now based in Brooklyn. Their excellent Jellywish LP is on the Double Whammy imprint. Make sure you check out the delightful animated video that accompanies Have Heaven. There is a genteel familiarity about the work of Florist. Yet, I’ll certainly stop short of using the well-worn label of “sounds-like”. Curiously satisfying music where I discover a little more on each listen.

Soot Sprite – All My Friends Are Depressed

I’ve been keeping a watchful eye on Soot Sprite from Exeter in the glorious west country of England. All My Friends Are Depressed could not be more timely as Elise Cook’s lyrics and emotive delivery challenges Dana Margolin’s coolness. Sam Cother on drums, percussion & backing vocals plays his part so well, I love the way his drums are recorded, crisp and loud along with Sean Mariner’s formidable bass. With their new album, aptly titled, Wield Your Hope Like a Weapon, Soot Sprite tackle the angst they and their peers must certainly feel right now. Curiously, the jolly romp of a video for All My Friends Are Depressed suggests a gleeful attitude with brightly colored balloons and clown makeup. Then again, the chaos that ensues tells of deadpan, very English dark humor. Love it!

Roberta Lips – En Plein Coeur

In fine retro-punk style Lucia of Roberta Lips hollers (In The Heart) En Plein Coeur from the EP of the same name. Lucia, Tiphaine, Lisa & Elise make their debut on the wonderful Spanish label, Flexidisco. Be sure to check out their catalogue, it’s packed full of excellent releases. Perhaps deliberately Roberta Lips pay a sort of homage to yé-yé, a style of pop music that emerged in Western and Southern Europe in the early 1960s. The French term yé-yé was derived from the English “yeah! yeah!” There is a lovely throwback video available for En Plein Coeur. A lot of much needed fun.

KuleeAngee – Animated Love

What we have here with the rambunctious Be Good EP on Manchester’s LAB Records three genre-defying cuts – which I approve of. There’s a moment in Animated Love that prompted me to recall Gary US Bonds classic hit, Quarter To Three, but that’s so far back in history, it’s from another century. Glasgow’s Keshav Kanabar and Edinburgh’s Duncan Grant got together to make music that“felt like it was guitar music without the guitars and had this attitude that they really didn’t give a fuck, but not in an angsty or angry way”. 

Meeting By Chance – Lines Of Change

Meeting By Chance AKA Skalpel’s Marcin Cichy debuts with Measurment a gorgeous EP of soulful atmospheric electronica. Classically trained on piano since his youth and one of the youngest Polish National TV music composers ever, Marcin quickly developed a taste for electronic music, composing soundtracks for some of Poland’s influential and pioneering video artists throughout the 80s and 90s. Following a serious skateboarding accident, Marcin’s backbone was broken in two places which meant a year spent between a bed and on a wheelchair. This period saw the beginning of his solo career as Meeting by Chance (the name inspired by a series of pictures by Duane Michals showing the reaction of two men crossing in an alley). 

Anna Ferrer – Elle Paupa Com Vol

Catalan singer and musician, Anna Ferrer’s album, Parenòstic is a treasure. She sings in Menorquн, the local language, akin to Catalan making her music evocative, alluring and poignant. Parenòstic translates to a portmanteau that fuses parenostre (our father, i.e. He who art in Heaven) with pronтstic, a Catalan word for prognosis or prediction. While, Elle Paupa Com Vol is interpreted as She Pouts As She Pleases. An exceptional collection of songs, some almost minimalist in arrangement, not to be overlooked.

Greentea Peng – Glory

Oh, yes! Try ignoring this one. Ms. Peng seduced me from the first line. Aria Wells, known professionally as Greentea Peng, born in 1994, is a neo-soul and self-described ‘psychedelic R’n’B’ singer and songwriter from South East London. Her stage name is taken from her love of green tea, and the London slang word ‘peng‘, which means attractive or tasty. Forget the sounds-like and influences, Aria takes a respectful nod in the direction of Lover’s Rock while keeping her production in a Dubwise tip all the way through her LP, Tell Dem It’s Sunny. An absolute beauty of an album. Mightily impressed, especially with her colloquial references. Damn fine production and mix. Play loud and often.

Deary – No Ordinary Love

Rebecca ‘Dottie’ Cockram, Ben Easton & Harry Catchpole are Deary they have been on my “must-listen-to-list” for a while now. Deary have taken a well-loved song and shown us a perfectly executed new dimension of Sade’s No Ordinary Love. The thing about cover versions is, in my opinion, they should always be a well-studied interpretation not a copy. Deary continue to release excellent music and you need to catch up if they are not already in your collection. Cool artwork by Dottie.

Kate Baxter with My Neptune – My Bed / Decatur 

Excuse me if I rave on for a moment, Kate Baxter’s writing skills are remarkable, her lyrics are moving, clearly personal and memorable. Along with her haunting voice and the inspired instrumentation this is extraordinary music. I could go on with all the adjectives I can muster but I still wouldn’t be able to describe how important this music is. I don’t lavish praise so freely or to often, yet Ms Baxter and her fellow musicians deserve every compliment. Do not overlook!

In Love With A Ghost – Flowers (feat. Nori)

Lou from Paris, France says, “I’m a chronically online transgender lesbian, I make music sometimes,  I hope you have fun visiting my website and its many pages.” I did Lou and I enjoy your music. In Love With A Ghost is Lou, Flowerson the Let’s GoEP features Nori (Norielle) Lou’s back catalogue is certainly worth searching out. I can’t quite put my finger on what I actually like about In Love With A Ghost as I hear something different on each cut. And that’s a good thing.

Betty Hammerschlag – Fake Girl

First of all, I love this LP Fake Girl on Blush records out of Glasgow. The eight songs deceive with a dubby cloud over abstracted folk leanings. Beautiful and etherial, sometimes dark and alluring with “other voices” buried in the mix(es). Betty composed and produced the album and confidently toys around with manipulating her voice on occasion while sensitively handling the mixing board. I have to imagine, she knew where she was going before entering the studio, I won’t accept that these inspired zigzags in the production were by chance and not intended. The psychedelic-ish video for Deep like the cover photo for Fake Girl perfectly set the tone for how I imagine Ms. Hammerschlag glides through life. 

Confuse – Orasion

Hailing from Marseille, France, self-taught musician, Christelle Canot says the intimate tracks for her LP Confuse started as pure poetic expression but evolved into a cohesive work thanks to meaningful connections. Each song reflects a loved one, creating a mosaic of interpersonal relationships. Christelle uses the name Confuse as well as the title for her LP. Confused yet? She has a cool video for Orasion. Confuse is on Rescue + Return Records.

Maisie Marra – Blood In My Veins

A possible conundrum here. Is Maisie Marra Maisie Minx or Elvira Depressedly or perhaps Eve Collins on guitars, bass, keys, programming, vocals? In the sleeve notes to the EP 1991 you’ll read the following, “Maisie Marra is a work of fiction and any resemblance to real persons or events is 100% on purpose.” And, “Maisie Marra grew up in North East England. These are some songs she wrote hope you like them.” Intriguing music, so perfectly delivered. Another collection of songs that arouse searching questions. There is anguish here. Honesty and desperate love, perhaps. Another Irish singer-songwriter from years gone by was known for his sometimes revealing but often mysterious odes to love – and life. (Mr. Morrison has stepped away from allowing his emotions on display in recent years). Maisie Marra deserves your appreciation.

Maribou State – All I Need (feat.  Andrea Trianna)

Let me begin by saying the obvious, I love what Maribou State do, Chris Davids & Liam Ivory make exceptional recordings and Hallucinating Love is absolutely massive. Selecting just two cuts was an almost impossible task. This is music I can listen to over and over again, while I’m in the kitchen rustling up dinner, in my car stuck in traffic, at the gym bouncing away on the treadmill. Unfortunately for others around me I tend to sing along at the top of my lungs, definitely out of tune but bloody enthusiastically. Yes, there is a nostalgic mood that permeates Maribou State’s music, while they conjure up a distinctly modern sound. The production techniques surprise and thrill me on each repeated play and the choice of vocalists has to be respected. This is not the time to get political but anyone who does not love this album must have voted for the orange felon. 

Mia Koden – Movements

Left right, left right! Talented South London-based producer, Mia Koden AKA Sancha Ndeko grew up in Ghana and Nigeria says, “The EP title Keep It Stepping means to continue moving, progressing, or advancing…to encourage someone to keep going…including in dance and music, as a way to keep the energy and momentum going”. She also adds, “Keep It Steppin’ was made during a period of fatigue but I was motivated to feel better and step forward. Built for dance-floors; I hope you can move to these in a way that works for you”. A perfect sentiment.

Private Joy – Pure Love Ft. Fox (Mali-I Dub)

Oh what a delight the EP, Pure Love Remixed is from Manchester’s finest soulstress, Private Joy. Remixed gives us four versions of Pure Love, taking alternate directions from the same source, with Private Joy the guiding vision behind the record, her broad influences are on full display here: from electro to drum and bass to dub, label mates and close collaborators all throw their ante in the project. Versatile reggae producer Mali-I joins forces with Jamaican-Mancunian vocal extraordinaire Fox: flipping the original into a late 70s reggae version + dub, with live drums and bass, tape delay and spring reverb – channelling U-Roy meets King Tubby.

Cid Poitier x Sheba Q – Destiny

Junglist goddess Sheba Q joins forces with Sub:Clef label boss Cid Poitier to deliver 2 deep and soulful cuts. Sheba Qpresents her sultry and poetic vocals over Cid Poitier’s underlying groove with his trademark chest filling sub-bass which subtly opens into an unexpected jazzy, saxophone led juxtaposition. It’s certainly worth mentioning that Sub:Clef is an experimental bass record label which explores the blurred genre boundaries of Early Dubstep, Neo Soul, Electronica and Dub, born in the cultural melting pot of South London. Do not overlook!

Holy Tongue – Ambulance Dub

My love of all things Dub stretches back far longer than you may imagine, from the earliest of Jamaican 7” B sides to experimenters in early Techno like Portion Control and Martin Bowes’ Attrition, Dub has been a constant ingredient of all my live sets and radio shows. So, how cool then to share a new double-sided 7” from Holy Tongue. This is the work of a trio of Electro Dub masters, Valentina Magaletti, Al Wootton and Susumu Mukai. Ambulance Dub is on the Trule imprint. Disturbing and compelling. Excellent graphics.

Nilufer Yana – Cold Heart

Nilufer Yanya grew up in London, listening to Turkish and classical music at home, her mother is of Irish and Barbadian heritage and her father is Turkish. Nilufer gravitated to rock music and learned to play guitar by the age of 12. Her latest EP, Dancing Shoes is out now on Ninja Tune. We heard Cold Heart a fine example of the artist’s excellent writing abilities which she shares with her creative partner, Wilma Archer. You are advised to check out her past releases and her videos, especially the live performances and do pay extra attention to the sleeve for Dancing Shoes – Nilufer literally bends impossibly backwards.

Congi – Burn (feat. Ayaluna)

Out of Nottingham, exceptional downtempo Dubstep from producers, Alex Tulip aka Tulip and Gary Frost aka Gaz presenting as Congi. Exquisite soulful vocals courtesy of Ayaluna on Burn. Their album, Quartz should not be overlooked. Very cool artwork by Kasper Plougmand. Love this one!

Emer – Nobody Speak

“Born in Lithuania, living in Brussels, musician and sound artist Marija Rasa explores in her practice sonic spatialisation, texture, and fragility. Since her studies at the Institute of Sonology in The Hague (NL), she has been working on a series of acousmatic pieces for multichannel speaker setups. In these compositions, she carefully sculpts fictional soundscapes out of delicate noise, electronic sounds, and field recordings, attentively put together by using a micro montage approach. Her collaborations extend to diverse musical fields, from electroacoustic experimentation with the duo ugne & maria, with Ugnė Vyliaudaitė, to the electronic music duo forgotten plants, with Konradas Žakauskas. An author of the cassette, ‘sea salt‘ (Lillerne Tapes), double single in collaboration with Ugnė Uma (STROOM), and her latest LP ‘Fog’ (Short Span), written under the moniker Emer. Her music has been described as “delicate but imbued with enormous emotional resonance. This music doesn’t call attention to itself; it doesn’t attempt to pummel you with concrete realizations. Instead, Rasa has shaped a galaxy of gentle swaying soundscapes in which voices are left to wander through nebulas of amorphous melody as we engage with a persistent desire to sink further into these celestial spaces.” words courtesy of Joshua Picard. Fog is Marija Rasa’s debut album on Short Span as Emer. Exceptional artwork by Micah Giraudeau.

Lucrecia Dalt – Cosa Rara (Ft. David Sylvain)

A prolific and limitless musician, performer, composer, and sound artist, Lucrecia Dalt challenges both genre and form, pulling apart familiar elements of pop and experimental music and reassembling them in unexpected ways. Lucrecia grew up in Columbia and she channels her heritage with Cosa Rara, her new single featuring legendary musician David Sylvain. Dalt has made a name for herself as a composer for film and TV, including her original, acclaimed scores for HBO’s series The Baby, and the forthcoming psychological horror The Rabbit Trap. Do investigate her earlier releases.

Porridge Radio – Don’t Want To Dance

Dana Margolin says “Almost all the songs started out as poems,” of the work that became Porridge Radio’s most recent LP, Clouds In The Sky They Will Always Be There For Me” Margolin continues, “The recording sessions resulted in a vast amount of material, more than made sense for one album”. Therefore, Dana carved out an EP’s worth of material and we have Machine Starts To Sing. I make no excuses, I’m an unabashed fan of Margolin. Her voice has to be one of the most important in modern music today. I’ve waxed on and on before on why I think Ms. Margolin and Porridge Radio make important music. Hardly ever do I want to reach out and hug a singer songwriter and tell them it’s gonna be alright, yet in the case of Margolin I identify with her words which sound to me to come directly from her heart. Do yourself a favor, even if you don’t have a silly broken heart emerge yourself in the poignant music of Porridge Radio. Oh, and a big thumbs up to Maria Marzaioli of Slum Of Legs on violin. Truly wonderful.

Dana Gavanski – The Wind (Blew You Away)

Dana’s LP Spring Demos is a reflective collection of her earliest songs, originally released in 2017. In her first broadcast interview with me she innocently asked, “What do you want to know?” of my first question. Dana’s unassuming honesty in the conversation is beguiling almost at odds with the complexity and maturity of her music. The Canadian singer-songwriter is currently residing in London and continues to release wonderful music.

Amy Rose – Shimmery, Delicate, Ephemeral

Amy Rose Mills is a NYC based artist. She also plays guitar in Couch Slut and Adult Human Females. She says Amy Rose – Shimmery, Delicate, Ephemeral “was recorded in my bedroom fall into winter 2024-2025; a precursor to my full length album”. Amy Rose Mills lists the following skills: voice, baritone guitar, violin, romantic guitar, field recording, noise, drum programming. All proceeds go to TYEP – Trans Youth Emergency Project or directly to trans people in need.

Léonie Pernet – Réparer Le Monde (Repair The World

From her third album, Poèmes Pulvérisés the Parisian artist wrote, composed and performed all the songs, plus she is responsible for drums programmation, drums, percussions, piano, keyboards, synths and vocals. Léonie explains that Poèmes Pulvérisés, album title inspired by René Char, courtesy of Éditions Gallimard Crybaby & InFiné Éditions. The lovely photography is by Delphine Diallo.

Unmarry Me – Clean Fight

We begin Vol 388 with a startling cut from Happy Soul Records out of London who proclaim that this is their second release in thirteen years. If you do dare to check out Alasdair Roberts & Ivor Kallin – Jesus Christ (Ex Sebadoh) you’ll understand that you stumbled upon unknown territory. Lise Frances (Help She Can’t Swim), Chris Rowley (Huggy Bear, Adulkt Life) and Jon Slade (Huggy Bear, Snoozers) are Unmarry Me by way of London to Brighton and back (they say), not so sure that explains anything. As group they have been together for about half a year of a world in trouble, (again according to their PR blurb)Therefore they are group trying to carve out some joy and light as a form of resistance, no small feat or maybe grandiose but worth stating. They are comprised of personnel who have all had time or continue to have time in other groups, who did not take easy routes or money and didn’t make many friends, so it goes.  Yet again we rely on their statements which also include the following, “Unmarry Me are about bending, queering, breaking and resetting rules, smudging boundaries and having a lovely time. Unmarry Me is a romance but you might not or might want to identify with its protagonists, Uunmarry Me is up to you, make the right choice”. Well, fortunately for them or maybe us, I love what they are up to. For a moment I wondered if this was a long lost 7” I’d forgotten about from circa 1978 when enterprising souls took their hand stamped sleeves with a “Porky Prime Cut” pressing on it over to Notting Hill to bother Kickboy Face at Rough Trade for a place in the new release bin. Of course, that’s just me having an unreal flashback. This is in fact their first release from November 2025 with Spanner In The Hurt on the other side. With enormous pleasure I cannot (will not) slot this darling release into a well-worn genre. It’s unnerving, mysterious and charming.

Sev Ka – Birds

“I am not a person of words I seem to be more fluent in the language of birds” sings, Seweryna Dudzińska, aka Sev Ka. The Polish artist based in Glasgow says she takes influences from Eastern European folk music and confessional lyrics to enchant and disarm. And a fine job she does. Curiously ethereal and haunting. Lovely cover photo by Seweryna Dudzińska.

Sorrow – Unrequited

I love this record. A gorgeous melange of genres from the elusive producer Sorrow. His first six-track EP in six years delves into an emotive mood that can work on the dance floor and the end of the evening. Brilliantly crafted from this Bristonian talent. Available through the always excellent White Peach imprint. Lovely sleeve art.

The photograph is a digital self portrait circa 2005 by Norman B courtesy his collection